Review: Words that Shape Us

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Cover image of "Words that Shape Us" by Ken Waters

Words that Shape Us

Words that Shape Us, Ken Waters, foreword by John Ferré. Integratio Press (ISBN: 9781959685296) 2025.

Summary: A comparative analysis of four evangelical periodicals coverage of American politics and faith from 2016 to 2024.

One of the least controversial things that may be said of our current president is that he has dominated the American political scene from 2016 to the present. Surprisingly, despite questions of character and ethics, he has enjoyed broad support among whites who identify as evangelical Christians. At the same time, there is a dissenting minority, often characterized as an evangelical elite, in terms of education, who hold differing political views. A number of commentators have sought to parse the current landscape of evangelicalism. In this book, Ken Waters, a emeritus professor of journalism at Pepperdine University approaches this cultural analysis through the lens of four of the leading evangelical publications of this time period. Specifically, he compares their coverage and editorial slant on key political events during this period.

In his Introduction, he identifies three questions he will explore. Firstly, how does the divide in voting advice in the evangelical press in 2016 carry through in the voting behavior of evangelicals then and subsequently? Secondly, what can we learn about the evangelical movement by a broader look at how they discuss how Christians ought live in the modern. Thirdly, what might these findings foreshadow for the future of the evangelical movement? In particular, do the divergences reflected in these publications reflect a fraying or disintegrating movement?

Then Waters introduces each of the publications, offering a brief historical sketch. In alphabetical order, he begins with The Christian Post, a free, online-only publication featuring daily news coverage, launched by Korean pastor, David Jang in 2006. Richard Land signed on as executive editor. Second is Christianity Today, launched out of the vision of Billy Graham in 1956 as a counterpoint to The Christian Century. It sought to articulate thoughtful evangelical faith and positions on moral issues including abortion and homosexuality.

Sojourners (originally The Post-American) was formed in 1971 by disaffected evangelical seminary students as a peace and justice-oriented magazine, a distinctive that has only expanded in recent years. Led by founder Jim Wallis, it is a mouthpiece of a progressive evangelicalism. Finally. World was founded in 1986 by Joel Belz with a self-described editorial philosophy of “biblical journalism.” It underwent a profound shift in 2021 when Albert Mohler became Opinion editor, accepting only conservative commentary. Many of the journalists, including Marvin Olasky left the publication.

In the remaining chapters, Waters analyzes each periodical’s coverage and editorial approach to major political issues. He begins with the 2016 election and the approach to each of the candidates. The Christian Post included opinions supporting each candidate while the publication did not want to give a vote to either. They reluctantly deemed Trump the lesser of two evils. Christianity Today likewise criticized both candidates, Clinton on positions and Trump on moral grounds and did not endorse a candidate. Sojourners rarely mentioned Clinton, apart from her lifelong social justice Methodist background. However, it extensively criticized candidate Trump. While not endorsing either, it made clear Trump was anathema. World was hard-hitting both in allegations of corruption in Clinton’s background while calling on Trump to step aside for another candidate. It endorsed neither candidate while acknowledging that most readers would support Trump. Evangelicals followed this pattern in the next three presidential elections.

Succeeding chapters used the same approach to analyze the coverage of immigration, nationalism, George Floyd and racism, COVID, the 2020 election and Joe Biden, the end of Roe, LGBTQ+ questions, and the 2024 election. The Christian Post and World, especially after 2021, trended more conservative while Christianity Today and Sojourners trended more progressive. What was most striking to Waters was that the Christian perspective presented in all of the publications tended to differ markedly from opinion polls measuring evangelical belief. In the case of the murder of George Floyd, Christianity Today determined its past reporting on race to be deficient and the publication took steps to address those deficiencies.

Most striking were Waters’ conclusions about the future of evangelicalism. He notes the possibilities for fragmentation, particularly along the lines of an educational divide. Demographics are rapidly altering both the makeup of evangelicalism and the media landscape. However, quoting Russell Moore, he believes the shakeup and “homelessness” of evangelicals is a precursor to renewal. And he concludes that the “words that shape us” will continue to be important in that renewal.

Waters offers us an outstanding work of both media and cultural analysis. He read hundreds of articles from the represented publications during this period. However, I question how influential these publications have been in forming an evangelical political philosophy, except among more educated evangelicals. Even here, did they form it or just mirror it? Are other media outlets on the left and right far more “shaping”? I think that many of evangelical conviction are turning from such outlets to others like Plough, Mere Orthodoxy, and Comment. None of these are mentioned here. I do think words are shaping. But, while important to the analysis of this work, I question whether the four publications studied here are the wineskins that will shape the hoped-for renewal. If the Lord is pleased to pour out new wine, new wineskins will be needed.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: The Earth Will Be Filled

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The Earth Will Be Filled

The Earth Will Be Filled, (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), Donnie Berry. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010778) 2025.

Summary: The glory of God in scripture, that God reveals his glory to his people and through them, to fill the earth.

The glory of God is the bedrock of scripture. So maintains Donnie Berry who finds the glory of God wherever he turns in scripture. But what do we mean by the glory of God? Berry studies the words used and proposes this definition;

“Glory refers to all the fullness of the triune God–the fullness of his wisdom, love, creativity, beauty, strength, compassion, justice, life, joy–all that makes him weighty and wonderful, made manifest for us to see, experience, respond to, and, perhaps most surprisingly, participate in” (p. 7).

Berry argues that this is a worthwhile study. God made and redeemed us for Himself and to long for and behold God’s glory is the bedrock of joy in our lives. So what is the witness of scripture to God’s glory? Like other volumes in this series, Berry will trace the theme of glory from Genesis to Revelation. In the process he will formulate a biblical theology of the glory of God.

The narrative begins with creation. God fills the earth with the glory shared with God’s triune self. Not only that but God crowns humans with the special glory of dominion, bringing God’s goodness to all creation. But as a result of disobedience, humans cease to glorify God and spread his glory to all creation. Instead, they spread destruction and death. But even then, God clothes them and spares Noah and his creatures.

But God does not give up on his plan to spread his glory through his people. Beginning with Abraham, he calls out a people through whom he will bless the earth. He reveals that glory through Israel in the exodus and at Sinai. When they rebel, Moses not only pleads for God to go with them but asks to see God’s glory. God cannot do this. It would kill Moses. But he makes all his goodness pass before him. Moses sees what is glorious about God. Then he discloses Israel’s purpose–they are God’s treasured possession and a kingdom of priests. Furthermore, God makes his glory dwell among them through giving them both Torah and tabernacle. Eventually, the temple will replace the tabernacle at the height of Solomon’s rule. God’s glory will descend upon it.

Yet Israel, like Adam will rebel. The nation will fall and the glory will depart from the temple. But God doesn’t give up. God is present and preserves them through exile. Then he promises that his glory will not only return to Zion but fill the earth. Key to this will be “the servant of the Lord.”

Then John tells us “the Word became flesh” and glory came down among us. Signs of that glory fill the first part of John’s gospel. Then the hour of his glory comes when he is lifted up on the cross to draw all people unto him. God raises him and and he imparts the Spirit of glory, empowering his disciples for mission.

Paul, in Romans, speaks of our hope of sharing in God’s glory as God restore all creation. This is hope for both Jew and Greek, for all who hear God’s “no condemnation.” God’s glory in Christ extends to this redeemed humanity, and through them to the groaning creation.

Finally, in Revelation, we witness the final victory of God’s glory, centering on the slain Lamb, who is worthy of all praise. Though him, God brings all earth under his rule. And in the new creation, his people share his glory and rule.

How then shall we respond? The invitation is to behold, and by beholding, God transforms us from one degree of glory to another. Whereas our enemy subjects us to slavery, our redeeming Lord both reveals and shares his glory with us.

I wish Berry could have discussed the Synoptic gospels and Acts, and the witness of Hebrews, which would have enriched this study. However, there are plenty of riches in this “story of glory.” In addition, Berry uses various iterations of a very clear diagram to show the unfolding story. I felt Berry wrote in such a way as to not merely inform but to invite us to behold God’s glory and be transformed. This is biblical theology at its best.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Moms on the Way

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Cover image of "Moms on the Way" by Kathy Tuan-Maclean and Tara Edelschick

Moms on the Way

Moms on the Way (IVP Bible Study Experience), Kathy Tuan-Maclean and Tara Edelschick. IVP Bible Studies (ISBN: 9781514014202) 2026

Summary: A seven week Bible study for groups with personal readings on following Jesus through the challenges of motherhood.

Being a mom can be challenging. Kathy Tuan-Maclean and Tara Edelschick know this from their own experience as moms. Then they talked to seven hundred other moms to learn about the challenges they faced. In 2024, drawing on this research, they published their first group study book, Moms at the Well, to begin to address facing those challenges by finding nourishment in Christ and in community with other moms. But their research raised more issues than they could cover in just one book, so they’ve returned with a sequel.

In Moms on the Way, they address seven more topics through scripture-based discussions in groups coupled with five days of personal readings and study that amplify the group discussion. The topics are:

  • When we need a friend
  • When we feel ashamed
  • When we feel resentful
  • When we feel like we don’t have enough
  • When we’re caught up in the rat race
  • When God invites us to embrace vulnerability
  • When all we can taste is bitterness

Each week’s group discussions begin with text introductions and opening activities and a short video clip [QR code in guide to access]. They follow by Bible study with questions to engage and apply the text. Then they conclude with a breath prayer, a “Holy Spirit check-in” to listen for what the Spirit is saying, and a written leader benediction. The studies ideally take about 90 minutes but leaders can adapt them for shorter periods, like a lunch hour.

The five personal studies look at smaller segments of the passage or related passages combining biblical study, reflection questions, prayer prompts and invitations. The guide allows for plenty of room to write in responses.

While I’m not a mom, there are several things I like about this guide. Firstly, shaming is out! Moms struggle with this enough and the authors create a shame-free space where people can be honest about everything from how little of the guide they were able to read to struggles with loneliness, resentment, competition with other moms, and even bitterness. They even address shame and how God beckons us to break the cycle of shame with a cycle of spiritual transformation.

Secondly, Tara and Kathy are real! They share honestly and vulnerably about their own struggles, some continuing, and how they are leaning into their faith. For example, Kathy writes about her bitterness when diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in her twenties and Tara when God felt absent to her when she was grieving her father’s death.

Finally, women in narratives often don’t have names. In several narratives, the authors give them names that make contextual sense. The mother of the groom at the wedding feast at Cana is Yedida. The woman Elijah stays with at Zarephath becomes Zerah. Finally, the Shunamite whose son Elisha raises is becomes Shona. Such names foreground and make characters real, often women, who reside in the background of scripture.

While the guide can be studied individually, the authors believe the communal experience of honest sharing and mutual learning is immeasurably enriching. If you are part of a mom’s group looking for a study discussion guide that takes you deeply into scripture as well as into honest sharing and reflection, this is an outstanding resource.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

My review of Moms at the Well appears here: https://bobonbooks.com/2024/04/30/review-moms-at-the-well/

The Weekly Wrap: July 12-18

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The Weekly Wrap: July 12-18

Smoke Days

As a reader, one of my delights has always been in snow days, when blizzards and cold make staying inside and reading. In our brave new climate world, snow days are increasingly infrequent. But this week delivered the new climatological replacement: the Smoke Day. In our part of the United States, if Canada is having a wildfire season and the winds are out of the northwest, the smoke, smelling like burning plastic, fills our skies. Yesterday morning, our Air Quality Index reached over 400, the worst reading our city has ever recorded. Some cities to our north reached readings of over 700, hazardous for all mammals.

Now I don’t think this is a good thing. Firstly, it is just plain dangerous. Sunlight turns the smoke into deadly things like benzene, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and ozone, some of which are carcinogenic and others which just make breathing difficult. In addition PM 2.5 particulates penetrate deep into our lungs. Then there is all that carbon dioxide, added to what we humans generate. We never used to have days like this. Changing climate conditions turn Canadian forests into tinderboxes. And many Canadians are dealing with far more dire conditions than we are.

The one consolation is that like the Snow Day, about all one can do is stay indoors (hopefully in an air-conditioned spot that filters and recycles the air) and enjoy a good book. But I manage to do that most days anyway. At least I have a good excuse to not do yard work! I would rather not have the excuse of Smoke Days. But I fear it is a new normal. Stay safe friends!

Five Articles Worth Reading

Everyone’s abuzz about Christopher Nolan’s new cinematic rendering of The Odyssey. In “We’ll Help You Find Your Next Great Book. (Spoiler: It’s the ‘Odyssey.’),” A.O. Scott suggests that no matter your taste in literature, there is something in The Odyssey for you. And he uses that to introduce us to several translations of Homer’s classic.

Colson Whitehead’s Cool Machine concludes his Harlem Trilogy. David Hadju reviews it in “The Unapologetic Crime Fiction of Colson Whitehead.”

Batsheva Labowe-Stoll maintains the quest to develop artificial intelligence has often been religious in nature in “The Deep Spiritual History of AI.” For those familiar with Genesis, the efforts to develop AI have often seemed to me another Tower of Babel story.

Derek Thompson asks, “Why is the news media so interested in telling you how much the world sucks all the time? Why are so many of us obsessed with distraction and managing our attention? Why is it so hard to stop comparing ourselves to others? And why does everything in art and design seem the same these days?” In conversation with philosopher Agnes Callard, Thompson discovers one idea that links these questions, the “uni-context.” Read “A Philosopher’s One-Word Theory to Explain Why the World Feels So Weird” for the full interview.

Finally, I’ve often reflected on what an amazing intellectual Christian community the Inklings represented. Comment explores similar communities through history and around the world in “Seedbeds of Christian Humanism: A Gallery” The article links to articles devoted to 31 different communities.

Quote of the Week

This one was thought provoking. Is the search for truth a waking up from our dreams? So suggests Iris Murdoch, born July 15, 1919:

“We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.”

Miscellaneous Musings

An example of the community the Inklings and Dorothy L. Sayers enjoyed is described in a new book, The Way of Dante by Richard Hughes Gibson. It’s a marvelous study of the interactions between C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Dorothy L. Sayers around a shared love of Dante. Not only did they challenge each other’s thinking but the encouragement of Williams and Lewis gave Sayers the courage to embark on a new translation of the Divine Comedy.

As seems usual with Jane Austen, I’m on tenterhooks to see if Anne Eliot and Captain Wentworth rekindle the romance Anne ended at the persuasion of Lady Russell, who judged the Captain unworthy of the family in Persuasion. Don’t tell me. I want to see if I’ve guessed it. This is number four of the Austen novels I’ve read this year.

He’s a MacArthur Fellow, has won numerous national awards, I love his writing, and he is from the city where i live. And now, Hanif Abdurraqib adds to all this the honor of being named the 2026 ABA Indie Bookstore Ambassador! Well done!

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Kathy Tuan-Maclean and Tara Edelschick, Moms on the Way

Tuesday: Donnie Berry, The Earth Will Be Filled

Wednesday: Ken Waters, Words That Shape Us

Thursday: Allen Levi, Theo of Golden

Friday: Jane Austen, Persuasion

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for July 12-18.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.

Review: The Knocker on Death’s Door

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Cover image of "The Knocker on Death's Door" by Ellis Peters

The Knocker on Death’s Door

The Knocker on Death’s Door (The Felse Investigations, 10), Ellis Peters. Mysterious Press (ISBN: 9781504027151) 2015, first published in 1970.

Summary: Felse investigates two assaults, one a murder, by a church door that has a legend associated with its knocker.

What is it about that door? Legend had it that the knocker on the newly restored parish door was dangerous to sinners, whose hands could be burned if they touch it. But shortly after the celebration of its restoration, two men are assaulted. One of them, Gary Bracewell, was a freelance writer who had returned to the village to look at the door and its knocker. He was found dead at the base of the door, a hand reaching toward the knocker. A blow to the head killed him. A similar blow concussed the other victim.

Inspector Felse, a friend of Sgt. Moon, the local officer in charge, is in the area and joins the investigation. We learn that the door came from a decaying old house, part of a former abbey. The remnants of the Macsen-Martel family live there. Robert, the elder son, manages the home and cares for his ailing mother. However, Hugh, the younger, lives elsewhere and is a business partner with Dave at an automotive shop. Hugh races cars and is dating Dave’s sister Dinah. Robert discovered that the door, used for their wine cellar, had come from the parish church and arranged for the restoration.

The mystery deepens when Dave, who had repaired the steering on Bracewell’s car returns it to his widow. Because he was curious why Bracewell came back to the door, he learned that Bracewell had first seen the door when he wrote a story on the Macsen-Martel house. But the widow could share no reason for the interest. But he had search through photographs. So Dave searches out the photographer, Alix, and eventually they figure out the reason for Bracewell’s interest in the door and its knocker.

They pass all this on to Felse, which leads to the discovery of another body, accompanied by a suitcase! Felse methodically puts the pieces together just in time to prevent one more murder in the exciting climax to the story.

Ellis Peters (a.k.a. Edith Mary Pargeter) is probably most famous as the author of The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael. I read the whole series, enjoying characters, plotting, and good writing. Now I discover this series, albeit out of order, which didn’t seem to be a problem. I suspect you’ll see more reviews featuring Inspector Felse in the future! (And one spoiler: Dave and Alix get together, a trademark, it seems of an Ellis Peters story.)

Review: We the People

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Cover image of "We the People" by Jill Lepore

We the People

We the People, Jill Lepore. Liveright (ISBN: 9781631496080) 2025.

Summary: A history of the Constitution, focusing on the amendments and how difficult it has been to amend the constitution.

Do you know what amendment took the longest time to ratify? It was the most recent, the 27th Amendment, concerning congressional pay, which took 203 years to ratify, finally in 1992. Do you know the last amendment to be proposed and ratified in modern times? It was the 26th Amendment, which was ratified in 1971, giving eighteen-year-olds the right to vote, just in time for me to vote when I turned 18! Depending on how you count, it has been 34 or 55 years since the last amendment proposed was ratified. It’s not for lack of trying, as historian Jill Lepore observes in this book. Notably the Equal Rights Amendment, broadly favored by Americans never was ratified by enough states. Although a majority would like to see this, no amendment has passed out of Congress to abolish the electoral college.

We the People is a constitutional history which focuses the history of constitutional amendments of which there have been only twenty-seven in our 250 year history. But why so few? It all comes down to Article V of the constitution. First, two thirds of both houses of congress must approve an amendment. Then either legislatures or special conventions of three-fourths of the states must ratify the amendment.

Lepore observes that amendments tend to come in clusters. The first twelve were between 1791 (the Bill of Rights, numbers One to Ten) and 1804. The next amendments, Thirteen to Fifteen, followed the Civil War, between 1865 and 1870. Then Sixteen to Twenty-One, which included Prohibition and its repeal, income tax, and women’s suffrage dated between 1913 and 1933. Finally, the most recent group came between 1951 and 1971, Amendments Twenty-Two to Twenty-Six, addressing presidential term limits, DC electors, eliminating poll taxes, presidential succession, and voting for 18-year-olds. Then there was that oddball, the 27th, on congressional pay raises, resurrected from 1789 and finally ratified in 1992.

Lepore traces the periods of amendment and the intervening periods of quiescence. Of particular interest is the growing significance of the Supreme Court, at various times treating the constitution as a living document, adapting it to changing cultural needs. Then at other times, especially more recently, originalism treats the constitution as “dead, dead, dead” in Justice Scalia’s words. All the court may do is interpret and apply it original meaning. Everything else must be addressed by Article V.

But how are amendments possible in such a polarized congress and society? And what happens when neither amendments nor court interpretations address emerging societal realities? Lepore expresses concern about the possibilities of unrest as well as moves away from constitutional democratic governance. She sees neither an activist or originalist court as the answer but a return to a more robust embrace of amendments as the needed “safety valve” that properly allows for constitutional rule that grows with the needs of the country.

She concludes:

“No constitution can be kept forever, like a butterfly under glass, tacked down with pins. In danger of wilting. To constitute is to become or establish; to amend is to mend, correct, repair, and improve. Americans might learn again to amend, or else they could invent a new instrument to guarantee liberty, promote equality, nurture families, knit communities, thwart tyranny, and avert the destruction of a habitable earth” (p. 581).

Lepore has done a tremendous work of historiography. She also has left us with good questions. But I have a hard time seeing a way forward in our current political context and that concerns me. Attempting to draft a new constitution scares me more, the implication of “invent a new instrument.” Some of the basic premises about human nature and political philosophy that the original drafters shared are no longer shared. I cannot foresee anything but chaos ensuing. It seems to me that a critical beginning is a renewed sense of shared congressional vision, leadership, and collaboration. But will we awaken to that necessity?

Review: Enacting Atonement

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Cover image of "Enacting Atonement by Roy McDaniel

Enacting Atonement

Enacting Atonement (Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture), Roy McDaniel. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514012529) 2025.

Summary: A study of the burnt offering of Leviticus 1:1-9 and how it displays the logic of atonement fulfilled in Christ.

Leviticus is where Bible reading programs often go to die. We get through Genesis and Exodus (although those tabernacle instructions can be a challenge). And then we get to Leviticus. All those offerings. But Roy McDaniel believes that the burnt offering described in the first nine verses of Leviticus 1 is significant for how it enacts atonement. He believes it both points toward and finds its efficacy in Christ’s atoning death.

McDaniel unpacks his argument through a narrative analysis of Leviticus 1:1-9. He begins with the setting (chapter one) of the sacrifice in God’s call to Moses from the tent of meeting. Then he sets that call in the character of God as revealed in his dealings with Israel in Genesis and Exodus. This points to the sacrifice addressing both satisfaction of divine justice and a recapitulation through a “filial” substitution. This is further elaborated in the plot (chapter two) of the Levitical sacrifice. The plotline of the sacrifice is a return to God of the filial offeror, through the death of the sacrifice, to God.

The hero (chapter three) is the filial son who presents the offering, laying his hand on the head, then slaughtering it, and skinning it. But the priests splash its blood and arrange the pieces to be burnt. So, this points toward the eternal Son who is both offeror and offering. Earthly son can only identify with the offering. The heavenly Son becomes it. Thus, the action (chapter four) sees the offering as one addressing the offeror’s original sin that stands in the way of approaching God’s presence and serving. Daniel traces each step and how it both satisfies the justice of god through the substitution of the offering. This is completed, then, in the pleasing aroma ascending to God.

Finally, McDaniel considers the meaning (chapter 5), considering on the basis of Hebrews, how the burnt offering enacts Christ’s work. McDaniel argues for the importance of the ascension, as well as the crucifixion and resurrection. The ascension is the pleasing odor rising to God. If not the completion of the sacrifice, as Moffitt argues, it is the exaltation of the filial Son.

Since McDaniel’s case foregrounds the burnt offering of Leviticus 1 as satisfaction through filial substitution, he includes an appendix traces the histories of models of the atonement. The study makes a good case for the typological significance of the burnt offering. And it celebrates the ultimate hero, the eternal Son!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Beauty and Resistance

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Cover image of "Beauty and Resistance by Jonathan P. Walton

Beauty and Resistance

Beauty and Resistance, Jonathan P. Walton. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514012284) 2025.

Summary: A rule of life for those engaged in justice efforts in which beauty and resistance flow from a rested life.

Jonathan P. Walton is an effective ministry leader, a gifted communicator, and an advocate for justice. But a few years he was weeping in his car, stressed out and facing physical health issues. He realized he was facing burnout. His passion for God was expressed in resistance. But his heart was starved for beauty. Over a period of several years, he realized he was in need of the “scaffolding” that provided rhythms and practices to nourish his love for a God who was both beautiful and just. Like many activists, he realized that he needed to cultivate the depths of his life to sustain him in the work of resisting injustice. This book is the fruit of that process. He distills what he learned into four rhythms.

Rest: Working out of rest, not for it. He recognized that a component of his drivenness was a reaction to his family background–who he was trying not to be like. He was all about productivity but rest, date nights, and other activities of delight were missing. Walton re-framed his yearly calendar to work out of rest, with practices of beauty and delight for him and his family in every month. This also means facing dissatisfaction, despair, and desperation and bringing it to Jesus. Then he invites us into the light yoke of deliverance and discipleship.

Restore: Replenish your inner life for the work before you. Firstly, sleep was a priority. Then Walton discovered the importance of doing what he delighted in. For example, in his case this included baking and the book includes several of his recipes! It meant writing poetry he gave to his oldest daughter.

Resist: Seek individual and collective flourishing. He states that to be baptized is to be baptized into a revolution. Specifically, the good and beautiful rule of Jesus over all stands against our cultural ways of getting things done. Instead of all flourishing, for some to flourish involves the oppression of others. Walton flourishes in his efforts to resist such injustices through three prayers he prays daily. These are the Lord’s Prayer, The Prayer of Saint Francis, and the Franciscan Benediction.

Repeat: Establish rhythms to be a whole person in fruitful community. Walton uses Lewin’s force field analysis to identify the driving forces and restraining forces he needs to account for in pursuing his desired goals. Out of this, he establishes rhythms of rest, restoration, and resistance to pursue daily, weekly, quarterly, and annually. For the reader, he offers a chart of questions following this template.

Walton also adds another R that may be the first step for many and that is Recuperate. He gives the example of his own recuperation process from foot surgery. Whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, recuperation may be the starting place to take the first steps into the four rhythms.

I appreciated two things about this book. One was that Walton has “walked the talk.” He takes us through what he went through, which has a ring of authenticity. The other is the joining of beauty and resistance, of formation and justice advocacy. Walton shows how the integration of these two aspects into a rhythm of life nurtures a sustainable life. Instead of either burnout or oblivious bliss, Walton offers a model of discipleship in which beauty and resistance nourish each other.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Thriving in a Relationship When You Have a Chronic Illness

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Cover image of "Thriving in a Relationship When You Have Chronic Illness" by Lisa Gray, LFMT

Thriving in a Relationship When You Have a Chronic Illness

Thriving in a Relationship When You Have a Chronic Illness, Lisa Gray, LFMT. New Harbinger Publications (ISBN: 9781648486081) 2025.

Summary: Using ACT therapy, skills to keep relationships strong during chronic illness.

It is probably stating the obvious to say that chronic illness changes one’s life. But what may be less obvious is that chronic illness impacts relationships. Activities once shared in may not be possible, and with that shared dreams. Intimacy may change leading to guilt and frustration. Both the one with the illness and the well partner are affected. In other words, the dynamic of the relationship is altered.

Lisa Gray, LFMT writes this book to address the relational challenges of chronic illness. She believes partners going through chronic illness both pass through, or indeed, cycle through the classic five stages of grief. These are: shock and denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and testing and acceptance. She then uses skills drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to provide tools for working through these stages:

  • Present Moment Awareness during shock and denial: staying in the moment rather than “future-tripping.”
  • Cognitive Defusion during the anger stage: Stepping aside and observing one’s emotion, helping one decide how one will respond.
  • Finding Values during bargaining: Rather than chasing “if onlys,” aligning personal and team values to pursue what’s important.
  • Self-as-Context during depression: there is a “you” that isn’t your thoughts and that you do not need to become your thoughts.
  • Committed Action and Acceptance during testing and acceptance. You experiment with actions aligning with your values in moving forward and you accept that life has changed while having found new ways to live in relationship.

The book devotes two chapters to each stage. The first explains the stage as it relates to chronic illness. Then it explores how this impacts communication and emotions, shared activity, intimacy and sex, and friends, family and gatekeeping. Finally, the first chapter introduces the ACT skill for that stage. The second chapter goes back through the relational impacts, discussing them for both well and sick partners, interspersed with exercises. Gray uses summaries of key points and reflection questions to bring home key concepts.

Throughout, the tone is non-judgmental. The writer anticipates and discusses all the feelings and thoughts people go through in chronic illness. I thought the skills and exercises very clear and practical. While the book is best worked through together, a partner can work through it alone to work on their response to chronic illness, not their partner’s.

Chronic illness changes life for partners. One of the most critical things for a relationship is constructive communication as couples go through this. While the book is not a substitute for seeing a mental health professional, it can facilitate both understanding and skills that help couples work together through this difficult time in their life together.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.

The Weekly Wrap: July 5-11

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The Weekly Wrap: July 5-11

My Reading Bubble

I am becoming ever more aware that I exist within a reading bubble. I interact with a lot of readers both in person and online. And yet it turns out that only 20 percent of people in this country account for 80 percent of all book sales. And while those sales are up, as is library usage, it doesn’t appear that this is from an explosion of new readers. Rather, it might be that many of us old readers are upping our game. For retirees like me that may be literally true.

This week at The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch announced “The End of Reading Is Here” (article below). What struck me is that she was describing a sharp cultural divide between a literate and post-literate culture. Surprisingly, it is not for the absence of reading, which comes in bits and bytes constantly in our online lives. But this is very different from longform reading involving the comprehension of extended arguments or plotlines.

Consequently, we maintain different forms of discourse, from a shift from text to audio-visual and from extended discourse and discussion to competing memes and graphics. I could go in all sorts of directions with this, but I would pose the question of which corresponds more truly to life as it really is? Is it longform, or the soundbite? The fact that I keep reading gives you my answer.

Five Articles Worth Reading

We discussed how we would downsize our books by half if we had to over at my Facebook page. For some, that was to think the unthinkable. Mendel Uminer faced this challenge when his landlord said 10,000 books in a 600 square foot flat was just “Too Many Books.”

From too many books we go to the above mentioned “The End of Reading Is Here.” One of the ideas in the article is that eras of literacy are moments in history and that ours may be coming to an end. Read the article and tell me what you think.

In “Who Wants to Be a Professor?,” Mary Townsend explores the process of graduate education that inculcates a certain “persona” that is associated with the idea of a professor. Through experiences of disillusionment, she comes to this conclusion: “For let me tell you the truth, this is the only thing that is real: a lifetime of books read for pleasure, just because. It reminded of a conversation with a grad student absorbed in literary criticism, when I had the temerity to ask, When was the last time you enjoyed a book?” The look!

I’ve often maintained that the life of faith is dynamic, not static. It’s not just flipping a switch from non-belief to belief. In “Bosom Buddies” an older poet and theologian talk about how what it means to believe has changed over time as they’ve wrestled with the vicissitudes of life.

I’ve always love The Millions previews, offering thoughtful synopses of what they think are some of the more significant books of the season. Well, they have done it again in “The Millions’ Great Summer 2026 Book Preview.”

Quote of the Week

Marcel Proust was born on July 10, 1871. Given the environmental impact of most forms of travel, we might consider this:

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I loved working through Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael books. I’ve been reading one of her Felse Investigations. While set in modern times, I find this equally engaging. I think I’ve found a new (or not so new) series.

Maybe I’m too dogmatic, but I’ve pretty well concluded there is no place for using AI in the composition of books. Writing is hard work when done by humans but has brought us great and truly original works. Using AI to generate text just seems like cheating. And its also not always a very reliable researcher.

One would think getting to read lots of books is one of the perks of reviewing–and it is. But one of the most surprising satisfactions has been to work with authors, publicists, and readers and to engage with them as people. I think the reviewer who doesn’t like people misses out on a great deal and reviewing just becomes a grind. But that could just be me.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday, Lisa Gray, LFMT, Thriving in a Relationship When You Have Chronic Illness

Tuesday: Jonathan P. Walton, Beauty and Resistance

Wednesday: Roy McDaniel, Enacting Atonement

Thursday: Jill LePore, We The People

Friday: Ellis Peters, The Knocker on Death’s Door

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for July 5-11.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.